August 27, 2007

Lynn has posted the Hay Hay Its Donna Day Gnocchi round up . There are all sorts of gnocchi beginning with Lynn's Basil Ricotta Gnocchi to my Gnudi Gnocchi with several dessert gnocchi in between. Head on over and read the round up and vote .

Send an e-mail with your vote to staranise.ld [at] gmail [dot] com by September 1, 2007. The lucky winner will have the opportunity of hosting the next Hay Hay It's Donna Day.

Place
the ricotta, Parmesan, eggs, flour, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix
well to combine. Turn out the mixture on a lightly floured surface and
roll into 4 15cm (6 in)long ropes. Cut into 2cm (3/4 in) lengths and
press lightly with the back of a fork.

Then I switched to my adaptation of the gnudi method from the Spotted Pig which is in the latest Delicious magazine.

Pour a thin layer of semolina flour in a shallow baking dish. Roll teaspoonsful of dough into balls and drop onto the flour. Refrigerate for several hours uncovered. (True gnudi are tablespoon size)

Place 60 grams butter in a fry pan over medium heat and cook for two minutes or until foaming. Add sage leaves and fry until crisp and butter is golden brown and nutty smelling. Remove from the heat, use a slotted spoon to transfer the leaves to a paper towel and reserve the brown butter in a bowl.

Place in a large saucepan
of salted water over high heat. Bring to a boil and cook the gnocchi in
batches for 2-3 minutes or until cooked through. They will rise to the top when cooked. Remove with slotted
spoon and drain on paper towels.

Reserve a half cup water and place in a large fry pan with another 60 grams butter.

Gently transfer the cooked gnocchi to the fry pan and cook for 1 - 2 minutes or until liquid reduces a little. Add a tablespoon grated Parmesan to pan and shake pan to combine and cook for 30 seconds or until sauce is a coating consistency.

Transfer gnocchi to plates and drizzle with sauce. Drizzle reserved brown butter over and top with the sage leaves. I was unable to get sage leaves so used garlic chives.

They were sensational. The gnocchi were as light as a feather. This is a much easier way to make gnocchi than rolling dough into ropes and cutting off lengths. I didn't bother marking them with a fork.

* The gnocchi should be
homemade and can be a main dish, salad, side or dessert. You can use
any ingredient, such as cheese, potato or any other vegetable or fruit
to make the gnocchi.

*Post your recipe no later than August 18, 2007. When you post, send an email with the HHDD #14 in the subject line to staranise.ld[at}gmail[dot]com. Include your name, the name of your recipe, your location, the name of your blog and the permalink to your post.

*Round-up posted and voting begins on August 25, 2007.

*Voting closed and winner announced on September 1, 2007.

ARI'S COOKBOOK RAFFLEOver at Baking and Books Ari is raising funds for the Hazon Foundation 2007 NY Jewish Environmental Bike Ride with a raffle of cook books. There are two Donna Hay books "Instant Entertaining" in the raffle . Other wonderful books being raffled include books from Nigella, Jamie and David .

July 17, 2007

A rest day on Le Tour,Robbie is out and I no longer have a favourite rider, so time to catch up on a bit of blogging and blog reading.

This is the yummy birthday cake I enjoyed last night. Bryan had told me he would be ordering Thai takeaways for dinner but he was keeping a secret. Just as I was starting to wonder where the Thai takeaways were my lovely friends Dale and Sylvia arrived with a three course birthday dinner complete with birthday cake and wine. Then our neighbours Mark and Jenny called by with another cake and we opened more wine. Thank you to everyone who dropped by and left birthday wishes...and special thanks to Bron for the lamingtons .

June 23, 2007

I've been without my computer for a few days while it's been in for an upgrade. This morning I was as excited as a new mother waiting for her baby to be delivered as I waited for my computer to be delivered. It 's now back and it's more beautiful faster than before.

When Laura at Eat Drink Live announced sorbet as the theme for the latest Hay Hay Its Donna Day I thought I might make something with a touch of chili or ginger to warm things up a bit. It's winter down here and a cold winter at that. Being autumn, and finding the shops full of persimmons all thoughts of some chocolate chili combo went out the window.

I followed Donna's original recipe, poaching the persimmon to soften it before pureeing. Frozen persimmon is not as tasty as fresh persimmon. This would possibly work better with the astringent persimmon. New Zealand grows the non astringent variety Fuyu, which I prefer to eat raw while it is still young and crisp.

DONNA HAY'S BASIC SORBET

3/4 cup 150g caster (superfine) sugar

1 cup 240ml water

fruit puree of your choice

To make the basic syrup, place the sugar and water in a
saucepan over a low heat and stir without boiling until sugar is
dissolved.

Increase the heat and bring to the boil for one minute. Set aside
to cool. While the syrup is cooling, prepare one of the fruit
variations below.

Combine the fruit puree and sugar syrup, place in an ice-cream maker and follow the manufacturer'sinstructions
or the instructions below for a thick and scoopable sorbet. If you
don't have an ice-cream maker, place the fruit and syrup mixture in a
metal bowl or cake tin, cover and freeze for an hour or until just
beginning to set at the edge. Beat with an electric hand whisk and
return to the freezer. Repeat three times at hourly intervals or until
the sorbet is thick and smooth.

June 13, 2007

I love it when the theme rhymes. Like Hay Hay Its Donna Day - Sorbet. How perfect is that. Laura has chosen Sorbet as the theme for this round of Hay Hay Its Donna Day. Visit Laura at Eat Drink Live for the details and the Donna Hay recipe,then make your version. Laura's Mango Sorbet looks tempting doesn't it? Send your version to Laura at eatdrinkliveATgmailDOTcom by 8th July.

June 12, 2007

Katie has announced the latest winner of Hay Hay Its Donna Day - Caesar Salad. Congratulations to Laura at Eat Drink Live. Drop by and say hi to Laura and look out for her Hay Hay Its Donna day announcement.

Voting begins today, June 3rd, and runs until midnight on Saturday June 9th.
The winner will be announced Sunday the 10th! Anyone can vote by
emailing your choice to Katie at otherpeoplesfoodATgmailDOTcom. Good
luck!!!

May 23, 2007

This week I just happened to see a Jamie Oliver show where he made a Caesar Salad. One thing he did which appealed to me was to roast a chicken over the torn up bread to create the croutons. All the juices and sticky bits that normally drop down onto the bottom of the pan end up on the bread. Saves making croutons and because they are torn pieces it looks quite rustic. Jamie roasted his chicken in a wood fired oven in his garden. Sadly I only have an electric oven so my chicken was roasted in an electric oven in my kitchen.

I didn't have any cos lettuce but I did have acorn lettuce so that became the base. Then I just added some of the roasted chicken which I shredded roughly and some of the rustic torn croutons, drizzled with dressing and a few slivers of parmigiana cheese.

The dressing is made by pounding a couple of anchovies, a little garlic, some grated parmigiana cheese, oil and lemon juice. (three parts oil to 1 part lemon juice). I didn't follow a specific recipe just judged by eye the amounts I needed to feed four people.

Katie at Other Peoples Food is the host of this months Hay Hay It's Donna Day. If you want to join in check out her post and get your entry to her by 27th May.

May 09, 2007

Katie has chosen Caesar Salad as her theme for the latest Hay Hay It's Donna Day. Head on over to Other Peoples Food for the details and Katie's Caesar Salad. For all you need to know about Caesar Salad checkout Wikipedia . Post and email your entry to Katie by 27th May.

May 03, 2007

Congratulations to Katie at Other Peoples Food . Her Le Kit Cat Mousse won by popular vote Hay Hay It's Donna Day #11 - Mousse. In few days Katie will have posted her theme for Hay Hay It's Donna Day #12 - ???.

April 27, 2007

Do you have a favourite moose mousse? Helen has posted the mousse round up and you have until Sunday 29th April to vote for your favourite entry. I feel 5K (10 pound) heavier after reading every single entry. Every mousse entered is fabulous. How does one choose a favourite? Voting is open to anyone so please cast your vote after reading the round up by emailing marinette1ATcomcastDOTnet .

I invite you all to participate in A Taste Of Yellow by baking/making anything you wish as long as it contains a yellow food. I need your entries by 7th May for the round up on 16th May to coincide with LiveSTRONG Day .

April 13, 2007

Helen , the winner of Hay Hay Its Donna Day #10, has chosen mousse has her theme for Hay Hay Its Donna Day #11. Helen has posted the Donna Hay recipe for Blueberry and White Chocolate Mousse as the starter for the event. I halved the original recipe, replaced the white chocolate with dark, removed the blueberries and added bananas and macadamia nuts for my version. It is quite rich so an espresso cup serving was just perfect after our family Easter celebration lunch .

Place water in a bowl and sprinkle gelatin over it. Let stand until the gelatin absorbs the water.Place 2 1/2 ozs of the chocolate and cream in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until smooth and chocolate is fully incorporated. Add the gelatin mixture and stir for 1 minute to dissolve.Remove pan from heat and pour the mixture into a bowlWhisk for 3 minutes or until cooled.In serving cups place several pieces of sliced banana, a teaspoon of macadamia nuts, and a few slivers of the remaining 1 oz of chocolate.Pour mousse mixture over.Refrigerate 45 - 60 minutes to set.Decorate with extra bananas, nuts and chocolate slivers.

I used Lindt 70% cocoa chocolate which I like. The family would have preferred a sweeter version. You could add a tablespoon of honey and heat with the milk and chocolate. It would make a slightly sweeter version.

Post your own Hay Hay Its Donna Day mousse and email the details to Helen. You must post your mousse recipe no later than April 20th. Once your
post is up, email it to Helen at marinette1 AT Comcast Dot net, including
your name, name of your blog and its URL, title of your recipe and URL
to your post, a picture of your mousse.The round up will be posted and voting will begin on April 24th, and the winner will be announced on May 1st.The winner will receive this book by Trish Deseine and of course the chance to host HHDD #12!

April 10, 2007

White chocolate and blueberry mousse. How good does that sound. Helen the wonderful baker from Tartlette who made those in the above picture, is our host for Hay Hay Its Donna Day #11. She has chosen mousse as her theme. Drop by and say hi and get the Donna Hay Mousse recipe and all the details for this months challenge.

April 02, 2007

You have voted this yummy Pillow Cheesecake with salted butter caramel sauce from Helen at Tartlette the winner of Hay Hay Its Donna Day #10. Congratulations Helen and I'm looking forward to Hay Hay Its Donna Day #11. I'm sure it will be fun. Thanks to everyone who entered and a big thank you to Peabody for hosting HHDD#10. Drop by and say hi to Helen and see her plans for the next event.

March 14, 2007

I'm not quite up to mixing and blending yet so I had my son sous chef make my entry for Hay Hay Its Donna Day #10 - Cheesecake. He insisted on replacing the plain vanilla biscuits with Oreos . We didn't bother with any almond meal as in the original recipe but just blitzed the entire packet of Oreos in the blender and added the melted butter. The sous chef thinks next time we should blitz two packets and make a thicker base.

March 03, 2007

Head on over and visit Peabody at Culinary Concoctions . She is the lastest host of Hay Hay Its Donna Day and has chosen a Donna Hay Baked Cheesecake for this event. Peabody has made the Donna version. You can make one the same or add your own touches to make it your own special baked cheesecake. Post on your blog and send the details to Peabody (luvbriere (at) gmail (dot) com) by 17th March. The round up will be posted by 24th March and you can then vote for your favourite.

February 14, 2007

By just two votes Peabody at Culinary Concoctions was the winner of Hay Hay Its Donna Day - #9 the Soufflé challenge. Peabody plans to have the next challenge up by 3rd March and you will have two weeks to accept her challenge and have your entries in by 17th March.

Congratulations Peabody. Thanks Tami for hosting HHDD#9. Great job. To all participants - thank you and please join in HHDD#10. Peabody has a great idea and I'm sure you'll all want to play.

February 03, 2007

Quickly, rush on over to Tami's and read the round up of the soufflé edition of Hay Hay It's Donna Day. Voting is open to all. I tell you it won't be easy, the entries are very tempting. You have until 10th February to vote for your favourite.

January 25, 2007

Here's my entry for Hay Hay Its Donna Day . A little overcooked because I resisted the urge to peek and then left it too long. I also didn't fill the dish high enough because I was worried it would fall over the sides and dirty the floor of my beautiful CLEAN new oven.

Thank you to Tami for hosting the first of the 2007 challenges of Hay Hay Its Donna Day. If you haven't entered yet pop over and get the recipe and rules from Tami at Running With Tweezers . You have until 27th January to post your entries. Tami will post the round up on 3rd February and voting will begin with a winner to be announced on 10th February. Good luck.

January 15, 2007

Tami our host for HHDD#9, has announced the recipe she has chosen for the event. Congratulations to Tami on being a second time winner of Hay Hay It's Donna Day. Thank you to Cenzina for hosting the last event featuring Risotto.

Here's your chance to bake something large and fluffy. Visit Tami at Running With Tweezers for the details. We are looking forward to lots of lovely soufflés.

December 05, 2006

Cenzina has posted the Hay Hay Its Donna Day Roundup #8 . Please take a moment to read them and cast your vote before 10th December. The winner will receive a Box of goodies from the generous people at San Lorenzo .

I made one or two tiny alterations to the original recipe. I made a chicken stock to which I added 1 star anise and a small knob of ginger to the water as I wanted to create an Asian influenced risotto.

I replaced the wine with Stones green ginger wine, the lemon with lime, omitted the Parmesan and chives and gently fried the 12 peeled and chopped prawns in the butter. The ginger wine made it quite sweet and I balanced this by adding more lime juice.

For the prawns:prawns about 20 (but it depends on how big they are)butter 25g, meltedsea salt & cracked black pepperfresh basil leaves 8

Put
the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and let cook for one minute
over medium-high heat, or until the onion is soft. Add the rice and
stir for 1 or 2 minutes until all the grains seem coated with the oil.
At high heat, add the wine and let it evaporate, add then gradually the
boiling stock (one cup at a time, add new stock when the preceeding cup
has been absorbed). The whole cooking process should take 18 minutes.
To be sure, taste the rice at the end, it shouldn’t be hard but
definitely not too chewy either (al dente, that is). At this time take
the risotto of the heat, and add 4 tablespoons lime juice, the grated
rind, cooked chopped prawns with the butter they were cooked in, shredded basil, salt & pepper to taste, stir
well and let it rest for a few minutes.

Before starting to cook the
risotto you should prepare the prawns: wash them first, cut of their
heads and peel body, removing vein down the back of the prawn. Chop into bite size pieces. Melt butter in fry pan and gently sauté prawns until cooked.

November 19, 2006

Fieno del fieno il relativo giorno di donna is the Babelfish translation for Hay Hay Its Donna Day. Cenzina has posted Hay Hay Its Donna Day #8 . Cenzina is our first European host and has selected a well known Italian recipe for the challenge. Couldn't you just tuck into a bowl of her Tempo di Risotto right now. I'm sure it tastes as good as it looks.

This month's challenge is very special as it is the 1st anniversary of the Hay Hay Its Donna Day challenge. And to make the event even more special Cenzina has arranged a wonderful prize for the winner of the best risotto. We are very grateful to the lovely people at Sal Lorenzo for their generous goody box of Italian specialities. Drop by and say bonjourno to them.

Visit Cenzina at il cavoletto di bruxelles for the risotto recipe and competition details. You may choose to make the recipe as written or design your own risotto using the basic method. Send your entries to Cenzina at risottofordonna(at)gmail(dot)com by the 27th November.